Browsing by Author "Pozzi, F."

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    Dust and gas content of high-redshift galaxies hosting obscured AGN in the Chandra Deep Field-South
    (2020) D'Amato, Q.; Gilli, R.; Vignali, C.; Massardi, M.; Pozzi, F.; Zamorani, G.; Circosta, C.; Vito, F.; Fritz, J.; Cresci, G.; Casasola, V.; Calura, F.; Feltre, A.; Manieri, V.; Rigopoulou, D.; Tozzi, P.; Norman, C.
    Context. Obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) represent a significant fraction of the entire AGN population, especially at high redshift (similar to 70% at z=3-5). They are often characterized by the presence of large gas and dust reservoirs that are thought to sustain and possibly obscure vigorous star formation processes that make these objects shine at FIR and submillimeter wavelengths. Studying the physical properties of obscured AGN and their host galaxies is crucial to shedding light on the early stages of a massive system lifetime.Aims. We aim to investigate the contribution of the interstellar medium (ISM) to the obscuration of quasars in a sample of distant highly star forming galaxies and to unveil their morphological and kinematics properties.Methods. We exploit Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Cycle 4 observations of the continuum (similar to 2.1 mm) and high-J CO emission of a sample of six X-ray selected, FIR detected galaxies hosting an obscured AGN at z(spec)> 2.5 in the 7 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South. We measured the masses and sizes of the dust and molecular gas by fitting the images, visibilities, and spectra, and we derived the gas density and column density on the basis of a uniform sphere geometry. Finally, we compared the measured column densities with those derived from the Chandra X-ray spectra.Results. We detected both the continuum and line emission for three sources for which we measured both the flux density and size. For the undetected sources, we derived an upper limit on the flux density from the root mean square of the images. We found that the detected galaxies are rich in gas and dust (molecular gas mass in the range < 0.5-2.7x10(10) M- for alpha (CO)=0.8 and up to similar to 2x10(11) M-circle dot for alpha (CO)=6.5, and dust mass < 0.9-4.9x10(8) M-) and generally compact (gas major axis 2.1-3.0 kpc, dust major axis 1.4-2.7 kpc). The column densities associated with the ISM are on the order of 10(23-24) cm(-2), which is comparable with those derived from the X-ray spectra. For the detected sources we also derived dynamical masses in the range 0.8-3.7x10(10) M-circle dot.Conclusions. We conclude that the ISM of high redshift galaxies can substantially contribute to nuclear obscuration up to the Compton-thick (> 10(24) cm(-2)) regime. In addition, we found that all the detected sources show a velocity gradient reminding one rotating system, even though two of them show peculiar features in their morphology that can be associated with a chaotic, possibly merging, structure.
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    Enhanced star formation rates in AGN hosts with respect to inactive galaxies from PEP-Herschel observations
    (2012) Santini, P.; Rosario, D. J.; Shao, L.; Lutz, D.; Maiolino, R.; Alexander, D. M.; Altieri, B.; Andreani, P.; Aussel, H.; Bauer, F. E.; Berta, S.; Bongiovanni, A.; Brandt, W. N.; Brusa, M.; Cepa, J.; Cimatti, A.; Daddi, E.; Elbaz, D.; Fontana, A.; Schreiber, N. M. Foerster; Genzel, R.; Grazian, A.; Le Floc'h, E.; Magnelli, B.; Mainieri, V.; Nordon, R.; Garcia, A. M. Perez; Poglitsch, A.; Popesso, P.; Pozzi, F.; Riguccini, L.; Rodighiero, G.; Salvato, M.; Sanchez-Portal, M.; Sturm, E.; Tacconi, L. J.; Valtchanov, I.; Wuyts, S.
    We compare the average star formation (SF) activity in X-ray selected AGN hosts with a mass-matched control sample of inactive galaxies, including both star forming and quiescent sources, in the 0.5 < z < 2.5 redshift range. Recent observations carried out by PACS, the 60-210 mu m photometric camera on board the Herschel Space Observatory, in GOODS-S, GOODS-N and COSMOS allow us to obtain an unbiased estimate of the far-IR luminosity, and hence of the SF properties, of the two samples. Accurate AGN host stellar mass estimates are obtained by decomposing their total emission into the stellar and the nuclear components. We report evidence of a higher average SF activity in AGN hosts with respect to the control sample of inactive galaxies. The level of SF enhancement is modest (similar to 0.26 dex at similar to 3 sigma confidence level) at low X-ray luminosities (L-X less than or similar to 10(43.5) erg s(-1)) and more pronounced (0.56 dex at >10 sigma confidence level) in the hosts of luminous AGNs. However, when comparing to star forming galaxies only, AGN hosts are found broadly consistent with the locus of their "main sequence". We investigate the relative far-IR luminosity distributions of active and inactive galaxies, and find a higher fraction of PACS detected, hence normal and highly star forming systems among AGN hosts. Although different interpretations are possible, we explain our findings as a consequence of a twofold AGN growth path: faint AGNs evolve through secular processes, with instantaneous AGN accretion not tightly linked to the current total SF in the host galaxy, while the luminous AGNs co-evolve with their hosts through periods of enhanced AGN activity and star formation, possibly through major mergers. While an increased SF activity with respect to inactive galaxies of similar mass is expected in the latter, we interpret the modest SF offsets measured in low-L-X AGN hosts as either a) generated by non-synchronous accretion and SF histories in a merger scenario or b) due to possible connections between instantaneous SF and accretion that can be induced by smaller scale (non-major merger) mechanisms. Far-IR luminosity distributions favour the latter scenario.
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    Herschel FIR counterparts of selected Lyα emitters at z ∼ 2.2 Fast evolution since z ∼ 3 or missed obscured AGNs?
    (2010) Bongiovanni, A.; Oteo, I.; Cepa, J.; Perez Garcia, A. M.; Sanchez-Portal, M.; Ederoclite, A.; Aguerri, J. A. L.; Alfaro, E. J.; Altieri, B.; Andreani, P.; Aparicio-Villegas, M. T.; Aussel, H.; Benitez, N.; Berta, S.; Broadhurst, T.; Cabrera-Cano, J.; Castander, F. J.; Cava, A.; Cervino, M.; Chulani, H.; Cimatti, A.; Cristobal-Hornillos, D.; Daddi, E.; Dominguez, H.; Elbaz, D.; Fernandez-Soto, A.; Schreiber, N. Foerster; Genzel, R.; Gomez, M. F.; Gonzalez Delgado, R. M.; Grazian, A.; Gruppioni, C.; Herreros, J. M.; Iglesias Groth, S.; Infante, L.; Lutz, D.; Magnelli, B.; Magdis, G.; Maiolino, R.; Marquez, I.; Martinez, V. J.; Masegosa, J.; Moles, M.; Molino, A.; Nordon, R.; del Olmo, A.; Perea, J.; Poglitsch, A.; Popesso, P.; Pozzi, F.; Prada, F.; Quintana, J. M.; Riguccini, L.; Rodighiero, G.; Saintonge, A.; Sanchez, S. F.; Santini, P.; Shao, L.; Sturm, E.; Tacconi, L.; Valtchanov, I.
    Ly alpha emitters (LAEs) are seen everywhere in the redshift domain from local to z similar to 7. Far-infrared (FIR) counterparts of LAEs at different epochs could provide direct clues on dust content, extinction, and spectral energy distribution (SED) for these galaxies. We search for FIR counterparts of LAEs that are optically detected in the GOODS-North field at redshift z similar to 2.2 using data from the Herschel Space Telescope with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS). The LAE candidates were isolated via color-magnitude diagram using the medium-band photometry from the ALHAMBRA Survey, ancillary data on GOODS-North, and stellar population models. According to the fitting of these spectral synthesis models and FIR/optical diagnostics, most of them seem to be obscured galaxies whose spectra are AGN-dominated. From the analysis of the optical data, we have observed a fraction of AGN or composite over source total number of similar to 0.75 in the LAE population at z similar to 2.2, which is marginally consistent with the fraction previously observed at z = 2.25 and even at low redshift (0.2 < z < 0.45), but significantly different from the one observed at redshift similar to 3, which could be compatible either with a scenario of rapid change in the AGN fraction between the epochs involved or with a non detection of obscured AGN in other z = 2-3 LAE samples due to lack of deep FIR observations. We found three robust FIR (PACS) counterparts at z similar to 2.2 in GOODS-North. This demonstrates the possibility of finding dust emission in LAEs even at higher redshifts.
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    Herschel reveals the obscured star formation in HiZELS Hα emitters at z=1.47
    (2013) Ibar, E.; Sobral, D.; Best, P. N.; Ivison, R. J.; Smail, I.; Arumugam, V.; Berta, S.; Bethermin, M.; Bock, J.; Cava, A.; Conley, A.; Farrah, D.; Geach, J.; Ikarashi, S.; Kohno, K.; Le Floc'h, E.; Lutz, D.; Magdis, G.; Magnelli, B.; Marsden, G.; Oliver, S. J.; Page, M. J.; Pozzi, F.; Riguccini, L.; Schulz, B.; Seymour, N.; Smith, A. J.; Symeonidis, M.; Wang, L.; Wardlow, J.; Zemcov, M.
    We describe the far-infrared (far-IR; rest-frame 8-1000-mu m) properties of a sample of 443 H alpha-selected star-forming galaxies in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) and Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) fields detected by the High-redshift Emission Line Survey (HiZELS) imaging survey. Sources are identified using narrow-band filters in combination with broad-band photometry to uniformly select H alpha (and [O ii] if available) emitters in a narrow redshift slice at z = 1.47 +/- 0.02. We use a stacking approach in Spitzer-MIPS mid-IR, Herschel-PACS/SPIRE far-IR [from the PACS Evolutionary Prove (PEP) and Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES)] and AzTEC mm-wave images to describe their typical far-IR properties. We find that HiZELS galaxies with observed H alpha luminosities of L(H alpha)(obs) approximate to 10(8.1-9.1) L-circle dot ( approximate to 10(41.7-42.7) erg s(-1)) have bolometric far-IR luminosities of typical luminous IR galaxies, L(8-1000 mu m) approximate to 10(-0.006)(11.41)(+0.04) L-circle dot. Combining the H alpha and far-IR luminosities, we derive median star formation rates (SFRs) of SFRH alpha, FIR = 32 +/- 5 M-circle dot yr(-1) and H alpha extinctions of A(H alpha) = 1.0 +/- 0.2 mag. Perhaps surprisingly, little difference is seen in typical HiZELS extinction levels compared to local star-forming galaxies. We confirm previous empirical stellar mass (M-*) to A(H alpha) relations and the little or no evolution up to z = 1.47. For HiZELS galaxies (or similar samples) we provide an empirical parametrization of the SFR as a function of rest-frame (u - z) colours and 3.6-mu m photometry - a useful proxy to aid in the absence of far-IR detections in high-z galaxies. We find that the observed H alpha luminosity is a dominant SFR tracer when rest-frame (u - z) colours are less than or similar to 0.9 mag or when Spitzer-3.6-mu m photometry is fainter than 22 mag (Vega) or when stellar masses are lower than 10(9.7) M-circle dot. We do not find any correlation between the [O ii]/H alpha and far-IR luminosity, suggesting that this emission line ratio does not trace the extinction of the most obscured star-forming regions, especially in massive galaxies where these dominate. The luminosity-limited HiZELS sample tends to lie above of the so-called main sequence for star-forming galaxies, especially at low stellar masses, indicating high star formation efficiencies in these galaxies. This work has implications for SFR indicators and suggests that obscured star formation is linked to the assembly of stellar mass, with deeper potential wells in massive galaxies providing dense, heavily obscured environments in which stars can form rapidly.
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    The mean star formation rate of X-ray selected active galaxies and its evolution from z ∼ 2.5: results from PEP-Herschel
    (2012) Rosario, D. J.; Santini, P.; Lutz, D.; Shao, L.; Maiolino, R.; Alexander, D. M.; Altieri, B.; Andreani, P.; Aussel, H.; Bauer, F. E.; Berta, S.; Bongiovanni, A.; Brandt, W. N.; Brusa, M.; Cepa, J.; Cimatti, A.; Cox, T. J.; Daddi, E.; Elbaz, D.; Fontana, A.; Schreiber, N. M. Foerster; Genzel, R.; Grazian, A.; Le Floch, E.; Magnelli, B.; Mainieri, V.; Netzer, H.; Nordon, R.; Garcia, I. Perez; Poglitsch, A.; Popesso, P.; Pozzi, F.; Riguccini, L.; Rodighiero, G.; Salvato, M.; Sanchez-Portal, M.; Sturm, E.; Tacconi, L. J.; Valtchanov, I.; Wuyts, S.
    We study relationships between star-formation rate (SFR) and the accretion luminosity and nuclear obscuration of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using a combination of deep far-infrared (FIR) and X-ray data in three key extragalactic survey fields (GOODS-South, GOODS-North and COSMOS), as part of the PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) program. The use of three fields with differing areas and depths enables us to explore trends between the global FIR luminosity of the AGN hosts and the luminosity of the active nucleus across 4.5 orders of magnitude in AGN luminosity (L-AGN) and spanning redshifts from the Local Universe to z = 2.5. Using imaging from the Herschel/PACS instrument in 2-3 bands, we combine FIR detections and stacks of undetected objects to arrive at mean fluxes for subsamples in bins of redshift and X-ray luminosity. We constrain the importance of AGN-heated dust emission in the FIR and confirm that the majority of the FIR emission of AGNs is produced by cold dust heated by star-formation in their host galaxies.